Imaging apparatus and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

An imaging apparatus is capable of preventing unintended shooting setting when a through-image is displayed at a zoom position different from a field angle for reach shooting. The imaging apparatus includes a recording control unit configured to record a zoom position taken before a start of a function for temporarily changing the zoom position as a first position, a zoom control unit configured to perform control to move the zoom position from the first position to a second position when the function is started, and from the second position to the first position when the function is ended, and a control unit configured to perform control, when the zoom position is at the second position by the function, not to make any changes according to an instruction for changing specific shooting setting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having a functionthat facilitates setting of an object to be captured within a shootingrange when zoomed, and an imaging method.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, a magnification has become higher and higher in animaging apparatus such as a digital camera. In an imaging apparatus thathas a zoom function of a high magnification, even a slight movement ofan object may cause framing-out during field angle adjustment in anultratelephoto state. Even a small panning operation by a photographerhaving a camera set ready causes a great change in a field angle range.In such an ultratelephoto state, framing of the moving object to adesired field angle is difficult. To deal with this problem, JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-019852 has proposed an imagingapparatus that can easily track a distant moving object.

The imaging apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-OpenNO. 2006-019852 performs through-image displaying in a shooting standbystate with a zoom lens set on a wide-angle side, and displays, as aframe, a portion that becomes a shooting range when zooming-in by apredetermined magnification on the through-image. When a shutter buttonis half-pressed in this state, the zoom lens is driven to zoom-in by thepredetermined magnification. When the shutter button is fully pressed inthis state, real shooting can be performed in the zoomed-in state. Whenthe shutter button is released, the zoom lens is driven to zoom out toan original zoom position of the wide-angle side. Hence, the distantmoving object can be easily set within the shooting range during thezooming-in.

According to the method discussed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2006-019852, the through-image displaying at the zoomposition is performed on the angle side wider than a field angle forreal shooting. Consequently, when shooting setting is changed whilechecking effects by the through-image of the wide-angle side, the realshooting is performed by zooming-in greater than that shown during thethrough-image displaying. This may prevent achievement of the effectschecked by the through-image. For example, when exposure is adjustedbased on the through-image of the wide-angle side, an amount of lightacquired during the real shooting may be reduced by an amount of thezooming-in, thus making an actually captured image darker than thatchecked by the through-image. Even when exposure is adjusted to besuitable to the entire through-image of the wide-angle side, the imagemay be too bright or dark if the same exposure is set with respect tothe shooting range zoomed-in during the rear shooting. When a focus isadjusted to be fixed during the through-image displaying of thewide-angle side, during the real shooting, adjustment may be misalignedbetween the zoom lens and a focus lens by an amount of the zooming-in,causing a blurred image in the real shooting. Similarly for othersetting items, when setting is adjusted for shooting at a zoom positiondifferent from the zoom position of the real shooting, and the realshooting is performed on that setting while changing the zoom position,a user may not be able to acquire a desired image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to prevention of capturing of an imageunintended by a user due to changing of shooting setting whenthrough-image displaying is performed at a zoom position set differentlyfrom a field angle for real shooting.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an imaging apparatusincludes an operation unit configured to instruct change of shootingsetting, an instruction unit configured to instruct a start or an end ofa function for temporarily changing a zoom position, a recording controlunit configured to record a zoom position taken before the start of thefunction as a first position in a recording unit, a zoom control unitconfigured to perform control to move the zoom position from the firstposition to a second position according to an instruction for startingthe function from the instruction unit, and from the second position tothe first position recorded in the recording unit according to aninstruction for ending the function from the instruction unit, and acontrol unit configured to perform control, when the zoom position is atthe second position under control of the zoom control unit, not to makeany changes according to an instruction for changing specific shootingsetting from the operation unit.

The present invention can reduce a possibility of capturing the imageunintended by the user due to changing of the shooting setting when thethrough-image displaying is performed at the zoom position setdifferently from the field angle for real shooting.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of exemplaryembodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features,and aspects of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an appearance diagram illustrating a back face of a digitalcamera according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the digitalcamera according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating shooting mode processing according tothe present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen display example when shooting setting ischanged in a shooting standby state.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating framing assist (FA) processingaccording to the present invention.

FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate screen display examples in the FA processingaccording to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. It isto be noted that the following exemplary embodiment is merely oneexample for implementing the present invention and can be appropriatelymodified or changed depending on individual constructions and variousconditions of apparatuses to which the present invention is applied.Thus, the present invention is in no way limited to the followingexemplary embodiment.

An imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodimentincludes a FA button in addition to a zoom button, stores a current zoomposition by pressing the FA button, and drives zooming to a wide fieldangle position acquired based on a current zoom magnification. Theimaging apparatus then returns the zooming to the stored zoom positionby releasing the FA button. Hereinafter, this function is referred to asa FA function. According to an example of the present exemplaryembodiment, control is performed not to receive any change of shootingsetting in the imaging apparatus during execution of the FA function.

FIG. 1 is an appearance diagram illustrating a back face of a digitalcamera 100 as an example of the imaging apparatus according to thepresent invention. The digital camera includes a display unit 28 thatdisplays images or various pieces of information, a shutter button 61for giving a shooting instruction, a mode dial 60 for switching variousmodes, a connector 12 that connects a connection cable to the digitalcamera 100, an operation unit 70 that includes various switches,buttons, and a touch panel to receive various operations from a user, acontroller wheel 73 in the operation unit which is rotatable, a powerswitch 72 for switching power ON and OFF, a recording medium 200 such asa memory card or a hard disk, a recording medium slot 201 for storingthe recording medium 200, the recording medium 200 stored in therecording medium slot 201 which can communicate with the digital camera100, and a cap 203 for the recording medium slot 201.

A moving image button 74 is one of the buttons included in the operationunit 70, which receives an instruction of starting or ending (stopping)capturing of a moving image. A FA button 75 is one of the buttonsincluded in the operation unit 70, which receives an instruction ofexecuting a FA function. A zoom lever 76 is one of the members includedin the operation unit 70, which can be operated clockwise oranticlockwise around the shutter button 61, and receives an instructionof zooming in/out at an optical zoom or an electronic zoom according toan operation direction.

A Bali angle monitor unit 26 is a case provided with the display unit28, which is rotatably connected to a body of the digital camera 100 viaa hinge unit 27. The Bali angle monitor unit 26 is movable to at leastthe following positions with respect to the body, a location of whichcan be detected by a system control unit 50 described below.

Namely, a position illustrated in FIG. 1 where a display surface of thedisplay unit 28 is folded and exposed (first position);

a face-to-face position when the display unit 28 is opened so that thedisplay surface of the display unit 28 can face a direction of a frontsurface of the digital camera 100 (surface provided with a lens intowhich object light enters), and the display surface of the display unit28 can be viewed from an object side to be shot) (second position);

a position when the display unit 28 is opened so that the displaysurface of the display unit 28 can be viewed from the back face side ofthe digital camera 100 (third position); and

a closed position where the display surface of the display unit 28 facesthe back face of the digital camera 100, and is folded and is not seen(fourth position).

An eyepiece display unit 29 is a peer-through viewfinder, and a displaydisposed in the inside functioning as an electronic viewfinder (EVF) canbe viewed by peering-through.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thedigital camera 100 illustrated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2, a photographic lens group 103 includes a zoom lens and afocus lens. A shutter 101 has a diaphragm function. An image captureunit 22 includes a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a metal-oxidesemiconductor element that converts an optical image into an electricsignal. An analog/digital (A/D) converter 23 is used for converting ananalog signal output from the image capture unit 22 into a digitalsignal. A barrier 102 covers the image capture unit including thephotographic lens 103 of the digital camera 100 to prevent an imagingsystem including the photographic lens 103, the shutter 101, and theimage capture unit 22 from being stained or damaged.

An image processing unit 24 performs predetermined pixel interpolationor color conversion of data from the A/D converter 23 or data from amemory control unit 15. The image processing unit 24 performspredetermined calculation by using captured image data, and the systemcontrol unit 50 performs autofocus (AF) processing, automatic exposure(AE), and preliminary flash light emission (EF) based on a result of thecalculation. The image processing unit 24 further performs predeterminedcalculation by using the captured image data, and performs automaticwhite balance (AWB) processing based on a result of the calculation.

Output data from the A/D converter 23 is directly written in a memory 32via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15, or viathe memory control unit 15. The memory 32 stores image data acquired bythe image capture unit 22 and converted into digital data by the A/Dconverter 23, or image data to be displayed by the display unit 28 orthe eyepiece display unit 29. The memory 32 has a storage capacityenough to store the predetermined number of still images, a moving imageof a predetermined period of time, and a voice.

The memory 32 also serves as an image display memory (video memory). Adigital/audio (D/A) converter 13 converts the image display data storedin the memory 32 into an analog signal to supply it to the display unit28. The display image data written in the memory 32 is thus displayed bythe display unit 28 or the eyepiece display unit 29 via the D/Aconverter 13. The display unit 28 displays an image on a display such asa liquid crystal display (LCD) according to the analog signal from theD/A converter 13. The digital signal subjected to A/D conversion by theA/D converter 24 and stored in the memory 32 is subjected to analogconversion by the D/A converter 13, and sequentially transferred to thedisplay unit 28, thereby realizing an electronic viewfinder(through-image displaying). The eyepiece display unit 29 is disposed inthe peer-through viewfinder, and can display an image similar to thedisplay unit 28. The system control unit 50 performs control todetermine whether the display unit 28 or the eyepiece display unit 29 isused to perform displaying based on a detected location of the Baliangle monitor unit 26. For example, when the Bali angle monitor unit 26is in the first position, the display unit 28 is used to performdisplaying while turning OFF the eyepiece display unit 29 to save power.When the Bali angle monitor unit 26 is in the fourth position, theeyepiece display unit 29 is turned ON to perform displaying whileturning OFF the display unit 28 to save power. The display unit 28 andthe eyepiece display unit 29 can arbitrarily be switched ON/OFFaccording to a user's instruction. The display unit 28 and the eyepiecedisplay unit 29 can display the same display contents, and hence onlydisplaying by the display unit 28 is described below. However, similardisplaying can be performed by the eyepiece display unit 29.

An exposure control unit 40 controls the shutter 101 having thediaphragm function, and associates with a flash 48 to perform a flashexposure compensation function.

A focus control unit 42 controls focusing by driving the focus lensincluded in the photographic lens 103. A zoom control unit 44 controlszooming by driving the zoom lens included in the photographic lens 103.A barrier control unit 46 controls an operation of the barrier 102.

The flash 48 performs a light projection function of AF auxiliary light,and a flash exposure compensation function.

The exposure control unit 40 and the focus control unit 42 arecontrolled by using a through-the-lens (TTL) method. Based on a resultof calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit20, the system control unit 50 controls the exposure control unit 40 andthe focus control unit 42.

A nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable/recordable memoryand, for example, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM) is used. The nonvolatile memory 56 stores a constant and aprogram to operate the system control unit 50. The program is configuredto execute processing of various flowcharts of the present exemplaryembodiment described below.

The system control unit 50 controls the digital camera 100 as a whole.Each processing of the present exemplary embodiment described below isachieved by executing the program recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56.A random access memory (RAM) is used as a system memory 52. In thesystem memory 52, the constant, a variable, or the program read from thenonvolatile memory 56 for operating the system control unit 50 israsterized. The system control unit 50 also controls displaying bycontrolling the memory 32, the D/A converter 13, the display unit 28, orthe eyepiece display unit 29.

A system timer 53 measures time used for various controls, or time of abuilt-in clock.

A mode changeover switch 60, a first shutter switch 62, a second shutterswitch 64, and the operation unit 70 are used to input various operationinstructions of the system control unit 50.

The mode changeover switch 60 switches an operation mode of the systemcontrol unit 50 to one of a still image recording mode, a moving imagerecording mode, and a reproducing mode. The first shutter switch 62 isturned ON in the middle of an operation of the shutter button 61included in the digital camera 100, in other words, by half-pressing(shooting preparation instruction), to generate a first shutter switchsignal SW1. Based on the first shutter switch signal SW1, a shootingpreparation such as AF processing, AE, AWB processing, or EF is started.

The second shutter switch 64 is turned ON when the operation of theshutter button 61 is completed, in other words, by full-pressing(shooting instruction), to generate a second shutter switch signal SW2.Based on the second shutter switch signal SW2, the system control unit50 starts a series of shooting operations from signal reading from theimage capture unit 22 to writing of image data in the recording medium200.

The operation members of the operation unit 70 perform suitablefunctions allocated to respective scenes by selecting various functionicons displayed by the display unit 28, and serve as various functionbuttons. The function buttons include, for example, an end button, areturn button, an image feed button, a jump button, a refine button, andan attribute change button. For example, when a menu button is pressed,a menu screen is displayed by the display unit 28 to enable setting ofvarious operations. The user can intuitively set various operations byusing the menu screen displayed by the display unit 28, a four-directionbutton, and a SET button.

A power source control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, adirect current (DC)-DC converter, and a switch circuit that switches ablock to be energized, and detects presence of a loaded battery, a typeof the battery, and a residual amount of the battery. The power sourcecontrol unit 80 controls, based on the detection result and aninstruction from the system control unit 50, the DC-DC converter tosupply necessary power to the respective units including the recordingmedium 200 in a required period.

A power source unit 30 includes a primary battery such as an alkalinebattery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCdbattery, a NiMH battery or a Li battery, or an alternative current (AC)adapter. An interface 18 is used to connect with the recording medium200 such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 suchas a memory card includes a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating shooting mode processing according tothe first exemplary embodiment. This processing is achieved byrasterizing and executing the program recorded in the nonvolatile memory56 in the system memory 52 via the system control unit 50. When thedigital camera 100 is turned ON, and a mode is switched to the shootingmode by the mode dial 60, a shooting standby state is set, therebystarting the processing illustrated in FIG. 3.

In step S301, through-image displaying is performed. In thethrough-image displaying, to execute framing, images captured by theimage capture unit 22 are sequentially displayed in real time by thedisplay unit 28 before real shooting.

In step S302, whether the zoom lever 76 has been operated is determined.The processing proceeds to step S303 when it is determined that the zoomlever 76 has been operated (YES in step S302). The processing proceedsto step S305 when the zoom lever 76 has not been operated (NO in stepS302).

In step S303, based on an operation direction and an operation amount ofthe zoom lever 76, an instruction is issued to the zoom control unit 44to drive the zoom lens (optical zoom). When the zoom lever 76 isoperated to a wide-angle side in a state where the zoom lens has reacheda wide-angle end, the zoom lens is not driven. When the zoom lever 76 isoperated to a telephoto side in a state where the zoom lens has reacheda telephoto end, zooming-in is executed by the electronic zoom withoutdriving the zoom lens.

In step S304, a current zoom magnification that is a result of the zoomlens driving (or electronic zooming) in step S303 is recorded in thesystem memory 52. The zoom magnification is from the wide-angle end. Alens position of the zoom lens and an electronic zoom magnification canbe recorded in place of the zoom magnification.

In step S305, whether a setting change operation has been performed bythe operation unit 70 is determined. The processing proceeds to stepS306 when the setting change operation has been performed (YES in stepS305). The processing proceeds to step S307 when the setting changeoperation has not been performed (NO in step S305).

In step S307, various setting changes are executed according tooperation contents of the operation unit 70.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen display example displayed by the displayunit 28 during the setting change in step S306. The screen illustratedin FIG. 4 is displayed to change setting (shooting setting) regardingshooting when it is determined in step S305 that the Function buttonincluded in the operation unit 70 has been pressed. When the Functionbutton is pressed being superimposed on a through-image 401 displayedbefore the pressing of the Function button, a shooting setting item icongroup 402, a shooting setting icon group 404, and guidance 404 aredisplayed. The user selects a desired shooting setting item icon fromthe shooting setting item icon group 402 on the screen illustrated inFIG. 4 by operating the four-direction button included in the operationunit 70. The user then selects a desired shooting setting icon from theshooting setting icon group 404 corresponding to an item indicated bythe selected shooting setting item icon. The user can accordingly setshooting as indicated by the selected shooting setting icon.

A frame 403 is a selection frame indicating a currently selectedshooting setting item icon among the shooting setting item icon group402. A frame 405 is a selection frame indicating a currently selectedshooting setting icon among the shooting setting icon group 404. Theguidance 406 illustrates a content of shooting setting to be made by thecurrently selected shooting setting icon. In the example illustrated inFIG. 4, icons displayed in the shooting setting item icon group 402indicate, from the top, white balance adjustment, color setting, bracketshooting, continuous shooting and stroboscopic light control settings,photometric area setting, still image compression rate/recording pixelnumber setting, and moving image size setting. Shooting setting iconsdisplayed in the shooting setting icon group 404 are included in whitebalance adjustment items selected in the shooting setting item icongroup 402, which indicate, from left, automatic, sunlight, cloud,electric bulb, fluorescent lamp, fluorescent lamp H, and stroboscopicwhite balance settings. The guidance 406 displays a text illustrating awhite balance setting content (auto in this case) made by the currentlyselected icon in the shooting setting icon group 404.

In step S306, in addition to the change of the shooting setting on thescreen illustrated in FIG. 4, various shooting settings can be changedon the menu screen displayed when it is determined that the menu buttonis pressed in step S305. In step S305, setting can be changed based ondetermination that a stroboscopic setting button, a focus area (macroarea or normal area) switching button, an International Organization forStandardization (ISO) sensitivity setting button, a focus lock button,or an AE lock button is pressed.

In step S307, whether the FA button 75 has been pressed is determined.When it is determined that the FA button 75 has been pressed (YES instep S307), the processing proceeds to step S308 to perform FAprocessing. The FA processing is described in detail below referring toFIG. 5. When it is determined that the FA button has not been pressed(NO in step S307), the processing proceeds to step S309.

In step S309, it is determined whether the shutter button 61 has beenhalf-pressed and a first shutter switch signal SW1 has been generated.The processing proceeds to step S310 when it is determined that thefirst shutter switch signal SW1 has been generated (YES in step S309).When it is determined that the first shutter switch signal SW1 has notbeen generated (NO in step S309), the processing proceeds to step S315.

In step S310, a shooting preparation such as AF processing, AF, AWBprocessing, or EF is started.

In step S311, it is determined whether the shutter button 61 has beenfully pressed and a second shutter switch signal SW2 has been generated.The processing proceeds to step S313 when it is determined that thesecond shutter switch signal SW2 has been generated (YES in step S311).When it is determined that the second shutter switch signal SW2 has notbeen generated (NO in step S311), the processing proceeds to step S312.

In step S312, it is determined whether the shutter button 61 has beenhalf-pressed and the first shutter switch signal SW1 is kept ON. Theprocessing returns to step S11 when it is determined that the firstshutter switch signal SW1 is ON (YES in step S312), and stands by untilthe shutter button 61 is fully pressed or released while the AF or theAE determined by the shooting preparation operation is locked. Theprocessing returns to step S309 when it is determined that the firstshutter switch signal SW1 is not ON (NO in step S312).

In step S313, in response to the full-pressing of the shutter button 61,a series of still image capturing operations from signal reading fromthe image capture unit 22 to writing of image data in the recordingmedium 200 is performed (real shooting).

In step S314, review displaying of the image captured in step S313 isperformed for a predetermined period (several seconds) (REC review). Thereview displaying automatically ends when the half-pressing of theshutter button 61 is ended or after a predetermined period.

In step S315, it is determined whether the moving image button 74 hasbeen pressed. The processing proceeds to step S316 when it is determinedthat the moving image button 74 has been pressed (YES in step S315).When it is determined that the moving image button 74 has not beenpressed (NO in step S315), the processing proceeds to step S326.

In step S316, a series of moving image capturing (moving imagerecording) operations from signal reading from the image capture unit 22to writing of image data as a moving image in the recording medium 200is performed.

In step S317, whether the zoom lever 76 has been operated is determined.This step S317 and subsequent steps S318 and s319 are similar to thesteps S302 to S304, and thus description thereof is omitted. However,during the moving image capturing, a driving speed of the zoom lens isset lower than that in the shooting standby state in step S303 toprevent quality deterioration of the recorded moving image.

In step S320, whether a setting change operation has been performed isdetermined. The processing proceeds to step S321 to change settingaccording to the operation when it is determined that the setting changeoperation has been performed (YES in step S320), otherwise (NO in stepS320) the processing proceeds to step S322. In this case, the number ofsetting items that can be subjected to the setting change operation issmaller than that in the shooting standby state in steps S305 and S306because of the ongoing moving image capturing. Shooting settings thatcan be changed are, for example, manual focus setting, exposure setting,and a focus lock setting.

In step S322, whether the FA button 75 has been pressed is determined.The processing proceeds to step S323 when it is determined that the FAbutton 75 has been pressed (YES in step S322) to perform FA processing.The FA processing is described in detail below referring to FIG. 5. Theprocessing proceeds to step S324 when it is determined that the FAbutton 75 has not been pressed (NO in step S322).

In step S324, whether the moving image button 74 has been pressed isdetermined. The processing proceeds to step S325 to stop (end) themoving image capturing when it is determined that the moving imagebutton 74 has been pressed (YES in step S324). The processing proceedsto step S316 to continue the moving image capturing when it isdetermined that the moving image button 74 has not been pressed (NO instep S324).

In step S326, whether to end the shooting mode processing is determined.The shooting mode processing is determined to be ended when the powerswitch 72 is turned OFF, the mode is changed to another mode such as areproducing mode, or power is automatically turned OFF to save powerwhen predetermined time has passed without any operation. When theshooting mode processing is determined not to be ended (NO in stepS326), the processing returns to step S301 to be repeated. When theshooting mode processing is determined to be ended (YES in step S326),the shooting mode processing is ended.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the FA processing in steps S308 andS323 shown in FIG. 3 in detail. This processing is achieved byrasterizing in the system memory 52 and executing the program recordedin the nonvolatile memory 56 by the system control unit 50. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the FA processing is started by operating the FAbutton 75 in the shooting standby state or during the moving imagecapturing in the shooting mode.

In step S500, whether a current zoom magnification (or zoom position) isa wide-angle end is determined. When the current zoom magnification isthe wide-angle end (YES in step S500), further zooming-out is notpermitted, nor the FA function can be executed, and hence the FAprocessing is ended. In other words, in the case of the wide-angle end,the FA function is not activated even when the FA button 75 is pressed.When the current magnification is not the wide-angle end (NO in stepS500), the processing proceeds to step S502.

FIG. 6A illustrates a display example of the display unit 28 when thezoom position is not the wide-angle end (in a state of zooming-in) inthe shooting standby state or during the moving image capturing beforethe FA button 75 is pressed. In other words, FIG. 6 illustrates a screendisplay example in the case of NO determination in step S500. Athrough-image 401 is captured by optical zooming. An icon 602 indicatesthat a currently set shooting mode is a program AE mode. An icon 603indicates that current stroboscopic setting is forced light emission. Anicon 604 indicates that current ISO sensitivity setting is AUTO. Anumerical value 605 indicates that a currently set exposure correctionvalue is ±0. A numerical value 606 indicates how many still images canbe yet captured. The icons 602 to 604 and the numerical values 605 and606 are superimposed on the through-image 401 and displayed. Thus, thedisplay unit 20 displays information regarding shooting set in thedigital camera 100 (including current shooting setting) by characters oricons (hereinafter, referred to as shooting information).

In step S501, the current zoom magnification is recorded as a zoommagnification before FA processing (first position) in the system memory52 (recording control). This recording is executed separately from stepsS304 and S319. Even when zooming-out is executed in step S509 describedbelow, the current zoom magnification is kept recorded, which isreferred to when the zoom magnification subsequently returns to theoriginal magnification. As long as a zoom position taken before the FAprocessing is known, not only the zoom magnification but a position ofthe zoom lens may also be recorded.

In step S502, whether a zoom-out magnification when zooming-out isexecuted from the current zoom position to the wide-angle end, issmaller than a FA zoom-out magnification. This determination is madebased on the current zoom magnification stored in the system memory 52and a FA zoom magnification predefined as a zoom-out amount by the FAfunction and stored in the nonvolatile memory 56. The processingproceeds to step S503 when the zoom-out magnification is smaller thanthe FA zoom-out magnification (YES in step S502), otherwise (No in stepS502) the processing proceeds to step S504. The YES determination meansthat a zoom-out amount necessary for zooming-out from the current zoomposition to the wide-angle end is smaller than the zoom-out amountindicated by the FA zoom-out magnification, and the wide-angle end isreached before zooming-out by an amount equal to the FA zoom-outmagnification. Thus, the processing proceeds to step S503 to change theFA zoom-out magnification to the zoom-out magnification up to thewide-angle end.

In step S504, the shooting information displayed thus far by the displayunit 28 is set to non-display. FIG. 6B illustrates a display example inthis case. The display unit 28 displays only the through-image 401,while the other pieces of information are not displayed.

In step S505, whether the FA button 75 has been released (in otherwords, whether an end of execution of the FA function has beeninstructed) is determined. The processing proceeds to step S506 when theFA button 75 has been released (YES in step S505), otherwise (NO in stepS505) the processing proceeds to step S508.

In step S506, zooming is controlled to release temporary zooming-outthat has been executed by the FA processing (zooming-out executed instep S509 described below), thereby setting a zoom magnification to theone immediately before the FA processing is started (zoom magnificationrecorded in the system memory 52 in step S501). When the zoommagnification before the FA processing recorded in step S501 indicatesan electronic zoom area, zoom control is also performed by electroniczooming. This control causes zooming-in. In step S507, the shootinginformation set to non-display in step S504 is displayed again, and thedisplay state illustrated in FIG. 6A is restored to end the FAprocessing.

In step S508, it is determined whether zooming-out has been completed byan amount equal to the FA zoom-out magnification. When not completed (NOin step S508), the processing proceeds to step S509 to drive the zoomlens to execute zooming-out, or by electronic zooming if zooming-in hasbeen executed by the electronic zooming, and then the processing returnsto step S505. When it is determined that the zooming-out has beencompleted by the amount equal to the FA zoom-out magnification (YES instep S508), the processing proceeds to step S510. A zoom position whenzooming-out is finished is referred to as a second position.

In step S510, whether the shutter button 61 has been half-pressed and afirst shutter switch signal SW1 has been generated. When the firstshutter switch signal SW1 has been generated (YES in step S510), theprocessing proceeds to step S511 to clear (delete) the zoommagnification set before the pressing of the FA button 75 and stored inthe system memory 52 in step S501. Then, the shooting information set tonon-display in step S504 is displayed again, and the processing proceedsto step S310 to start a shooting preparation. Thus, when the shutterbutton 61 is half-pressed during the FA processing, it is presumed thatthe user desires still image capturing not at a field angle set beforethe FA button is pressed but at a current field angle. Accordingly, theFA processing is ended without changing the zoom position set by thetemporary zooming-out. In other words, the processing does not return tothe zoom position set before the FA function is started.

In step S512, whether the moving image button 74 has been pressed isdetermined. The processing proceeds to step S513 when it is determinedthat the moving image button 74 has been pressed (YES in step S512),otherwise (NO in step S512) the processing proceeds to step S515. Instep S513, the zoom magnification set before the pressing of the FAbutton 75 and stored in the system memory 52 in step S501 is cleared(deleted), and then the processing proceeds to step S514. In step S514,whether a moving image is currently captured is determined (so it isdetermined whether the moving image capturing (moving image recording)operations are being performed or not). When the moving image is notcurrently captured (NO in step S514), the processing proceeds to stepS316 illustrated in FIG. 3 to start capturing the moving image. Whencurrently captured (YES in step S514), the processing proceeds to stepS325 illustrated in FIG. 3 to display again the shooting information setto non-display in step S504, thereby ending the moving image capturing.As in the abovementioned case, when the moving image button 74 ispressed, it is presumed that the user desires to start or end movingimage capturing not at the field angle set before the FA button ispressed but at the current field angle, the FA processing is endedwithout changing the zoom position set by the temporary zooming-out.

In step S515, whether the moving image is currently captured isdetermined (so it is determined whether the moving image capturing(moving image recording) operations are being performed or not). Whenthe moving image is currently captured (YES in step S515), theprocessing returns to step S505 to be repeated. In other words, in theFA processing during the moving image capturing, frame displaying is notexecuted in a range equivalent to the field angle set before thepressing of the FA button described in step S516 and below. This actionprevents the user from erroneously recognizing that a frame itself maybe recorded as a part of the moving image when the frame is displayedduring the moving image capturing, and also prevents obstruction tochecking of the currently captured moving image. The processing proceedsto step S516 when it is determined that the moving image is not beingcurrently captured (NO in step S515).

In step S516, it is determined whether the frame in the range equivalentto the field angle before the pressing of the FA button 75 has beendisplayed. The processing proceeds to step S517 to display the framewhen it is determined that the frame has not been displayed (NO in stepS516), and otherwise (YES in step S516) the proceedings proceeds to stepS19.

In step S517, a ratio of a field angle set before the pressing of the FAbutton 75 to a current field angle is calculated based on the zoommagnification before the pressing of the FA button 75 stored in thesystem memory and a current zoom magnification which is the temporaryzooming-out performed by pressing the FA button 75. Then, a size of anindicator, here exemplified by a frame (or outline), to be displayed bythe display unit 28 is calculated based on the acquired ratio and a size(vertical and horizontal lengths) of the display unit 28, and theprocessing proceeds to step S518. In step S518, the display unit 28displays a frame 607 of the size acquired in step S517 (so e.g. bysuperposition of the frame on the captured image). The frame 607indicates the range equivalent to the field angle before the pressing ofthe FA button 75. So in other words the frame 607 indicates the regionof the image corresponding approximately to the shooting range if thezoom position were to be returned to the first position. As an example,assume that the zoom magnification before the pressing of the FA button,so at the first position as stored in the memory in S304, is 16 timesand a current zoom magnification, so at the position, is 4 times. Ashooting range at the first position is calculated to be one quarter ofthe vertical and one quarter of the horizontal range of the shootingrange at the second position. Accordingly the size of the frame iscalculated to be one-16th of the area of the shooting range (entirecurrent display range) at the second position. So in this example aframe delineating one-16th of the area of the shooting range isdisplayed with the center of the frame at the center of the screen. Adisplay example in this case is described below referring to FIG. 6C.

In step S519, whether the operation unit 70 has executed a settingchange operation is determined. The processing proceeds to step S520when it is determined that the setting change operation has beenexecuted (YES in step S519), otherwise (NO in step S519) the processingproceeds to step S505. In step S520, while the setting change operationhas been executed, no setting is changed, nor any processing is executed(no response). Alternatively, even when determination step of step S519is omitted, the processing can similarly proceed from step S518 to stepS505. In other words, in the present exemplary embodiment, any settingchange operation is not accepted during temporary zooming-out performedby the FA processing, thus inhibiting setting changes of the shootingsetting items which is changeable in step S307 illustrated in FIG. 3.This arrangement can prevent capturing of any images unintended by theuser due to a change of shooting setting made during the FA processingwhere the through-image is displayed at the zoom position different froman actual shooting field angle. The following operations are notinhibited, but accepted at this time: an operation of turning OFF powerby the power switch 72, an operation of switching to another shootingmode by the dial mode 60, an operation of switching to the reproducingmode by pressing the reproducing button included in the operation unit70, and an operation of switching a display destination by moving theBali angle monitor unit 26.

FIG. 6C illustrates a display example of the display unit 28 in stepS518 illustrated in FIG. 5. A frame 607 indicates a frame equivalent tothe field angle before the pressing of the FA button 75, for athrough-image 601 captured at the field angle during the temporaryzooming-out performed by pressing the FA button 75. The user canaccordingly know a location of the shooting range set before thepressing of the FA button 75 in a wider range and how much it has beenexpanded. By using this FA function, the following is enabled: forexample, when a moving object moves out of the shooting range and islost during shooting by zooming-in to focus on the specific movingobject (car illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C), the object can be easilyfound by pressing the FA button 75 to zoom out and see around; and theobject focused on can be easily and surely set within the shooting rangeof an original zoom magnification by moving the digital camera 100 toput the object of the through-image within the frame 607 and releasingthe FA button 75.

The shooting information is set to non-display in step S504 for thefollowing reasons.

The first reason is that the FA button 75 for temporary zooming-out ispressed according to user's intention to check the outside of theshooting range before the pressing of the FA button 75, namely, a screenperipheral edge portion outside the frame 607 in the through-image 601illustrated in FIG. 6C. In this case, if information is displayed on thescreen peripheral edge portion, visibility of the screen peripheral edgeportion of the through-image 601 is reduced. Thus, during the FAprocessing, to prevent reduction of visibility of the screen peripheraledge portion of the through-image, the shooting information displayed onthe screen peripheral edge portion is deleted.

The second reason is a possibility that the user may confuse the frame607 displayed during the FA processing (during temporary zooming-out)with another frame having a different meaning such as a focus adjustmentframe displayed in another operation mode, an in-focus frame indicatingan in-focus range, or a face frame indicating a face range detected byface detection. To prevent such confusion of the user, the shootinginformation is set to non-display during the FA processing so that theuser can surely recognize the ongoing FA processing, and intuitivelyunderstand that a meaning of the frame 607 is different from that of aframe displayed in a normal operation mode. Advisably, a display formsuch as a color, a thickness or a line type of the frame 607 isdifferent from that of the focus adjustment frame, the in-focus frame orthe face frame.

Concerning the first and second reasons for setting the shootinginformation to non-display in step S504, the shooting information can beset semi-transmissive (transmittance is set larger than that before theFA button 75 is pressed) rather than to non-display, which is alsoeffective. While the shooting information is set to non-display, awarning of shooting permission/inhibition is displayed: examples are aLOWBAT warning displayed when a remaining battery life becomes small, awarning displayed when the recording medium 200 is not loaded, a warningwhen writing in the recording medium 200 is inhibited, and a warningregarding a remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium 200. Arecording icon indicating ongoing recording of a moving image, and anicon of an automatic scene determination mode for automaticallydetermining a scene and displaying its results are also displayed.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, whiletemporary zooming-out is set by the FA processing, changing of theshooting setting is inhibited. As a result, when the FA processing isreleased to return the zoom position to its original position, shootingbased on setting unintended by the user can be prevented.

The inhibiting of the setting change of the items changeable in stepS307 illustrated in FIG. 3 has been described in step S520 as anexample. However, the setting change may be accepted depending onsetting contents. Setting items permitted to be changed are thosereceiving no influence from a change in optical characteristics based onzooming-out (change of the zoom position) during the FA processing: theexamples are switching between continuous shooting and single shooting,image quality (compression ratio of image data), an image size, ON/OFFof a self timer, the number of seconds and the number of images when ON,ON/OFF of date adding to a captured image, and ON/OFF of eye-closingdetection and warning. These items can be set irrespective of the zoomposition. On the other hand, the setting change is not accepted as towhite balance (WB) adjustment, white shooting for manual WB, settingregarding exposure (shutter speed, diaphragm value, exposure correction,AE lock, or photometric method), ISO sensitivity, and setting regardinga focus. The setting regarding the focus includes a focus adjustmentrange setting, a focus lock, and an AF method. These items receive aninfluence from a change in optical characteristics based on thezooming-out during the FA processing, and there is a high possibilitythat even when adjustment is made by viewing the through-image 601 instep S20, the adjustment may not be appropriate for an image capturedafter the end of the FA processing when the temporary zooming-out isreleased.

During the FA processing where the FA button 75 is being pressed, bypressing the operation unit 70, exposure (different from that used forreal shooting by the signal SW2) for through-image confirmation can beswitched to one of the followings.

-   -   Exposure value before the FA button 75 is pressed    -   Exposure value matched with an entire image captured after        zooming-out by pressing the FA button 75 (exposure value matched        with a currently captured entire image). The image can easily be        viewed without any overexposure or underexposure even outside        the frame 607 b.    -   Exposure value matched with the inside of the frame 607        (exposure value matched with the shooting range when the zoom        position is set to a position before the FA button 75 is        pressed). A range captured by operating the shutter button after        the FA button 75 is released can be viewed more easily at        brightness close to real shooting.

The control of the system control unit 50 can be performed by onehardware unit, or a plurality of hardware units can share processing tocontrol the entire apparatus.

The present embodiment has been described by way of preferable exemplaryembodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to anyspecific embodiment. Various changes can be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. Each embodiment is only exemplaryof the invention, and the embodiments can appropriately be combined.

The exemplary embodiment is directed to the application of the presentinvention to the digital camera. However, other than the describedexample, the invention can be applied to any apparatus that has a camerafunction. In other words, the present invention can be applied to adigital single-lens reflex camera, a digital video camera, a personalcomputer or a personal digital assistance (PDA) having a shootingfunction, a mobile phone with a camera, a music player with a camera, agame machine with a camera, and an electronic book reader equipped witha camera.

Other Embodiments

Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of asystem or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out andexecutes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functionsof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method, the steps ofwhich are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, forexample, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory deviceto perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s). For thispurpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via anetwork or from a recording medium of various types serving as thememory device (e.g., computer-readable medium).

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2010-203156 filed Sep. 10, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An imaging apparatus comprising: an operationunit configured to instruct change of a shooting setting; an instructionunit configured to instruct a start or an end of a function fortemporarily changing a zoom position; a zoom control unit configured toperform control to move the zoom position from a first position to asecond position according to an instruction for starting the functionfrom the instruction unit, and from the second position to the firstposition according to an instruction for ending the function from theinstruction unit; a display control unit configured to display, when thezoom position is at the second position, an indicator indicating ashooting range corresponding to the zoom position at the first positionon an image display unit; and a control unit configured to performcontrol, when the zoom position is at the second position under controlof the zoom control unit, to keep a specific shooting setting even ifthe operation unit is operated, and when the zoom position is at thefirst position, to change the specific shooting setting according to aninstruction from the operation unit, wherein the specific shootingsetting includes at least one of: a white balance setting, an exposuresetting, a photometric method setting, a sensitivity setting, a focusadjustment range setting, a focus lock setting, and an autofocus methodsetting.
 2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesecond position is on a wider-angle side than the first position.
 3. Theimaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unitperforms the control to superimpose specific shooting information on animage displayed on the image display unit when the zoom position is atthe first position, and not to display the specific shooting informationon the image display unit when the zoom position is at the secondposition.
 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein duringcapturing of a moving image, the display control unit does not displaythe indicator of the shooting range even when the zoom position is atthe second position.
 5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the zoom control unit performs control to hold the zoom positionat the second position until the end of the function is instructed,after the zoom position has been moved to the second position accordingto the instruction for starting the function from the instruction unit.6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a zoomoperation member different from the instruction unit and configured toinstruct arbitrary changing of the zoom position.
 7. The imagingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein when shooting preparation isinstructed from a shutter operation member while the zoom position is atthe second position, the zoom control unit does not move the zoomposition to the first position even when ending of the function isinstructed from the instruction unit.
 8. The imaging apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein in a case of a shooting setting which does notreceive any influence from a change in optical characteristics caused bya change of the zoom position, the control unit performs control tochange the setting according to a user's operation even when the zoomposition is at the second position.
 9. The imaging apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control tochange, among shooting settings, at least one of: switching betweencontinuous shooting and single shooting, a compression ratio, an imagesize, ON/OFF of a self-timer, the number of seconds of the self-timerand the number of images, ON/OFF of date adding to an image to becaptured, and ON/OFF of eye-closing detection and warning, according toa user's operation even when the zoom position is at the secondposition.
 10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising a switching unit configured to switch an exposure setting forthe zoom position at the second position, to at least one of an exposurevalue, before the start of the function is instructed from theinstruction unit an exposure value matched with an entire image capturedwhen the zoom position is at the second position, and an exposure valuematched with a part of the entire image captured when the zoom positionis at the second position.
 11. The imaging apparatus according to claim1, further comprising a recording control unit configured to record azoom position taken before the start of the function, as the firstposition in a recording unit, wherein the zoom control unit performscontrol to move the zoom position from the second position to the firstposition recorded in the recording unit according to an instruction forending the function from the instruction unit.
 12. The imaging apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control, if ashutter operation member is operated and a shooting instruction isissued when the zoom position is at the second position under thecontrol of the zoom control unit, to perform shooting without moving thezoom position from the second position, and to record a captured image.13. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising amode switching unit configured to accept an operation of switching toany of a plurality of operation modes including at least a plurality ofshooting modes, wherein the control unit performs control to switch toanother shooting mode according to an operation being performed to themode switching unit when the zoom position is at the second positionunder control of the zoom control unit.
 14. The imaging apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising a reproduction switching unitconfigured to accept an operation of switching to a reproducing mode,wherein the control unit performs control to switch to a reproducingmode according to an operation being performed to the reproductionswitching unit when the zoom position is at the second position undercontrol of the zoom control unit.
 15. The imaging apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a power operation unit configured to switchpower ON and OFF of the imaging apparatus, wherein the control unitperforms control to turn OFF power according to an operation beingperformed to the power operation unit when the zoom position is at thesecond position under control of the zoom control unit.
 16. The imagingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a first display unitprovided outside of a viewfinder; and a second display unit providedinside of a viewfinder, wherein the control unit performs control toswitch a display destination between the first display unit and thesecond display unit according to an operation of switching a displaydestination being performed when the zoom position is at the secondposition under control of the zoom control unit.
 17. The imagingapparatus according to claim 16, wherein the first display unit is adisplay unit provided to a Bali angle monitor unit rotatably connectedto a main body unit, and wherein the operation of switching a displaydestination is an operation of moving the Bali angle monitor unit. 18.The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitperforms control, even if an operation of instructing change of any of ashutter speed setting, a diaphragm value setting, and an exposurecorrection setting is performed, not to change a setting according tothe operation, when the zoom position is at the second position undercontrol of the zoom control unit.
 19. A method for controlling animaging apparatus that includes an operation unit configured to instructchange of a shooting setting, and an instruction unit configured toinstruct a start or an end of a function for temporarily changing a zoomposition, comprising: performing control to move the zoom position froma first position to a second position according to an instruction forstarting the function from the instruction unit, and from the secondposition to the first position according to an instruction for endingthe function from the instruction unit; displaying, when the zoomposition is at the second position, an indicator indicating a shootingrange corresponding to the zoom position at the first position on animage display unit; and performing control, when the zoom position is atthe second position under control of a zoom control unit, to keep aspecific shooting setting even if the operation unit is operated, andwhen the zoom position is at the first position, to change the specificshooting setting according to an instruction from the operation unit,wherein the specific shooting setting includes at least one of: a whitebalance setting, an exposure setting, a photometric method setting, asensitivity setting, a focus adjustment range setting, a focus locksetting, and an autofocus method setting.
 20. A non-transitory storagemedium for storing a program that, when executed, causes a computer toexecute a method according to claim
 19. 21. An imaging apparatuscomprising: an operation unit configured to instruct change of anexposure correction setting; an instruction unit configured to instructa start or an end of a function for temporarily changing a zoomposition; a zoom control unit configured to perform control to move thezoom position from a first position to a second position according to aninstruction for starting the function from the instruction unit, andfrom the second position to the first position according to aninstruction for ending the function from the instruction unit; a displaycontrol unit configured to display, when the zoom position is at thesecond position, an indicator indicating a shooting range correspondingto the zoom position at the first position on an image display unit; anda control unit configured to perform control, when the zoom position isat the second position under control of the zoom control unit, to keepthe exposure correction setting even if the operation unit is operated,and when the zoom position is at the first position, to change theexposure correction setting according to an instruction from theoperation unit.
 22. An imaging apparatus comprising: an operation unitconfigured to instruct change of a shutter speed setting; an instructionunit configured to instruct a start or an end of a function fortemporarily changing a zoom position; a zoom control unit configured toperform control to move the zoom position from a first position to asecond position according to an instruction for starting the functionfrom the instruction unit, and from the second position to the firstposition according to an instruction for ending the function from theinstruction unit; a display control unit configured to display, when thezoom position is at the second position, an indicator indicating ashooting range corresponding to the zoom position at the first positionon an image display unit; and a control unit configured to performcontrol, when the zoom position is at the second position under controlof the zoom control unit, to keep the shutter speed setting even if theoperation unit is operated, and when the zoom position is at the firstposition, to change the shutter speed setting according to aninstruction from the operation unit.
 23. An imaging apparatuscomprising: an operation unit configured to instruct change of adiaphragm value setting; an instruction unit configured to instruct astart or an end of a function for temporarily changing a zoom position;a zoom control unit configured to perform control to move the zoomposition from a first position to a second position according to aninstruction for starting the function from the instruction unit, andfrom the second position to the first position according to aninstruction for ending the function from the instruction unit; a displaycontrol unit configured to display, when the zoom position is at thesecond position, an indicator indicating a shooting range correspondingto the zoom position at the first position on an image display unit; anda control unit configured to perform control, when the zoom position isat the second position under control of the zoom control unit, to keepthe diaphragm value setting even if the operation unit is operated, andwhen the zoom position is at the first position, to change the diaphragmvalue setting according to an instruction from the operation unit.
 24. Amethod comprising: instructing, by an operation unit, change of anexposure correction setting; instructing, by an instruction unit, astart or an end of a function for temporarily changing a zoom position;performing, by a zoom control unit, control to move the zoom positionfrom a first position to a second position according to an instructionfor starting the function from the instruction unit, and from the secondposition to the first position according to an instruction for endingthe function from the instruction unit; displaying, when the zoomposition is at the second position, an indicator indicating a shootingrange corresponding to the zoom position at the first position on animage display unit; and perform control, when the zoom position is atthe second position under control of the zoom control unit, to keep theexposure correction setting even if the operation unit is operated, andwhen the zoom position is at the first position, to change the exposurecorrection setting according to an instruction from the operation unit.25. A non-transitory storage medium for storing a program that, whenexecuted, causes a computer to execute a method according to claim 24.26. A method comprising: instructing, by an operation unit, change of ashutter speed setting; Instructing, by an instruction unit, a start oran end of a function for temporarily changing a zoom position;performing control to move the zoom position from a first position to asecond position according to an instruction for starting the functionfrom the instruction unit, and from the second position to the firstposition according to an instruction for ending the function from theinstruction unit; displaying, when the zoom position is at the secondposition, an indicator indicating a shooting range corresponding to thezoom position at the first position on an image display unit; andperforming control, when the zoom position is at the second positionunder control of the zoom control unit, to keep the shutter speedsetting even if the operation unit is operated, and when the zoomposition is at the first position, to change the shutter speed settingaccording to an instruction from the operation unit.
 27. Anon-transitory storage medium for storing a program that, when executed,causes a computer to execute a method according to claim
 26. 28. Amethod comprising: Instructing, by an operation unit, change of adiaphragm value setting; Instructing, by an instruction unit, a start oran end of a function for temporarily changing a zoom position;performing control to move the zoom position from a first position to asecond position according to an instruction for starting the functionfrom the instruction unit, and from the second position to the firstposition according to an instruction for ending the function from theinstruction unit; displaying, when the zoom position is at the secondposition, an indicator indicating a shooting range corresponding to thezoom position at the first position on an image display unit; andperforming control, when the zoom position is at the second positionunder control of the zoom control unit, to keep the diaphragm valuesetting even if the operation unit is operated, and when the zoomposition is at the first position, to change the diaphragm value settingaccording to an instruction from the operation unit.
 29. Anon-transitory storage medium for storing a program that, when executed,causes a computer to execute a method according to claim 28.